The idea was to rank NBA players' rebounding ability based on not just production, but height and position. Many studies have shown that rebounding rates increase with height, although that's fairly noisy, as increased height usually leads to closer proximity to the basket, where rebounds are plentiful. Anyway, to be "fair", I decided to compare rebounding rates between players who share the same height/position, in order to determine "actual" rebounding prowess. Think of this as a "position" adjustment, with the position also including height.
I wanted the pool to be as error-proof as possible, so I only selected players from 1979-2013, who played at least 200 games, and averaged at least 20 minutes per game. The reason for this should be fairly obvious, as rebounding rates for "low-usage" players can fluctuate wildly due to their small amount of playing time.
To rank these players, I standardized the Offensive and Defensive Rebounding Percentages (OREB and DREB), multiplied the OREB value by 2, and added it to the DREB value. While many analysts may disagree about the actual value of a rebound, most concede that an Offensive Rebound is worth double a Defensive Rebound, so I decided to adjust for that as well.
Why does any of this matter? For one thing, its entertaining. I think its fascinating to see where the All-Time Greats rank when approaching rebounding through this method. Also, I think the concept is important. Traditional position adjustments while helpful, are woefully outdated. The minds at Wages of Wins have been working on this issue for a while, and I think a quick construct that included height could be at best telling, and at worst, entertaining.
I've finished the ratings for the guards, and will be working on the wings and big-men. Your patience and time are always appreciated.
*Weebly is being stupid right now, so I could only post the Top 45 Guards, in terms of Adjusted Rebounding Score. Will fix as soon as possible.